American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO) Trading Down 0.5% – Here’s Why

American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. (NYSE:AEO)’s stock price dropped 0.5% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $17.31 and last traded at $17.62. Approximately 1,053,914 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 77% from the average daily volume of 4,645,818 shares. The stock had previously closed at $17.70.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on American Eagle Outfitters from $22.00 to $19.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Telsey Advisory Group lowered their target price on shares of American Eagle Outfitters from $23.00 to $20.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Bank of America cut their price target on shares of American Eagle Outfitters from $25.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of American Eagle Outfitters from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 2nd. Finally, TD Cowen cut their target price on American Eagle Outfitters from $25.00 to $23.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $22.40.

American Eagle Outfitters Stock Up 1.2 %

The stock has a market cap of $3.44 billion, a PE ratio of 15.06, a P/E/G ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.51. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $19.52 and a 200 day moving average price of $20.36.

American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, December 4th. The apparel retailer reported $0.48 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.46 by $0.02. American Eagle Outfitters had a net margin of 4.28% and a return on equity of 20.75%. The business had revenue of $1.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.30 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.49 EPS. The business’s revenue was down .9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. will post 1.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Eagle Outfitters Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 11th were given a $0.125 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 11th. This represents a $0.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.79%. American Eagle Outfitters’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 42.74%.

Insider Transactions at American Eagle Outfitters

In other American Eagle Outfitters news, Director David M. Sable sold 18,420 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, September 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.04, for a total transaction of $405,976.80. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 39,356 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $867,406.24. This trade represents a 31.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Cary D. Mcmillan sold 2,283 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.49, for a total transaction of $49,061.67. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 1,050,702 shares of company stock valued at $21,148,718 in the last ninety days. 7.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of American Eagle Outfitters by 2.8% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 9,749,561 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $218,293,000 after acquiring an additional 268,326 shares during the last quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. acquired a new position in American Eagle Outfitters in the 3rd quarter valued at $119,691,000. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in American Eagle Outfitters by 18.1% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 4,472,073 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $89,263,000 after purchasing an additional 684,420 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in American Eagle Outfitters by 40.6% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,370,626 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $97,858,000 after purchasing an additional 1,262,693 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. boosted its stake in American Eagle Outfitters by 36.4% during the 2nd quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. now owns 3,242,838 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $64,727,000 after purchasing an additional 865,355 shares during the last quarter. 97.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About American Eagle Outfitters

American Eagle Outfitters, Inc operates as a multi-brand specialty retailer in the United States and internationally. The company provides jeans, apparel and accessories, and personal care products for women and men under the American Eagle brand; and intimates, apparel, activewear, and swim collections under the Aerie and OFFLINE by Aerie brands.